When Alex Gross arrived at Olivet Nazarene University in the fall of 2018, he was 6-foot-9 and weighed 257 pounds.
Not only did the former Hauser basketball standout grow an inch in the past offseason, he dropped about 25 pounds. He now stands at a svelte 6-10, 230, and that’s allowed him to become a dominating force in the paint for the Tigers, who are bound for the NAIA Division II Tournament.
“I worked pretty hard this offseason to lose some weight so I could play longer,” Gross said. “Last year, I could only play about 20 minutes, and this year, I’ve bumped that up to about 27 or 29 minutes. I’ve improved my stamina.”
To do that, Gross changed his eating habits. After the season, he worked out a lot more, didn’t eat past 8 p.m. at night and then didn’t eat until noon the next day. He practiced and worked out for about two hours a day and kept losing weight and putting on muscle mass.
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“Alex has transformed his body,” Olivet coach Nick Birkey said. “He’s become more explosive, more bouncy. His conditioning has been much better. I can play him seven minutes in a row and not think about it. Last year, I could only play him three or four at a time.”
As a result, Gross’ stats have improved in almost every area. After averaging 9.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks as a freshman, he is at 15.4 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.7 blocks this season.
“Alex had made just a tremendous improvement from his first year,” Birkey said. “It’s not that his first year was not a good year, he just has been that much better this year.”
Gross’ 118 blocks leads the nation in all of NAIA Division II.
“I wasn’t really a big-time shot blocker in high school, but since I got here, I’ve really been working hard at it,” said Gross, the 2018 The Republic Boys Basketball Player of the Year. “I got my timing down, and that really helped.”
Olivet didn’t started keeping track of blocked shots until 1999. But since then, Gross ranks first in school history with 172 blocks in less than two years.
“Our program has never been known for shot blockers,” Birkey said. “He’s one we have always been able to count on. We’ve been able to be a defense that really disrupts some people in penetration and disrupts some shots and keeps people from the lane.”
Gross, who leads the Tigers in rebounding, also leads the team in field-goal percentage (64.3) and free-throw percentage (86.0). He ranks second on the team in scoring and third in assists (2.4).
This season, Gross has 17 double-doubles. The latest came last week when he had 18 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks in a 91-86 loss to IU-South Bend in the championship game of the CCAC Tournament.
“He’s a good passer,” Birkey said. “He sees the floor really well. He has a great understanding of the game. “He’s so fun to coach. He has a great energy about him. He competes well, and his teammates love him.”
Despite the loss in the league championship game, Olivet (30-3) received a bid to the NAIA Division II Tournament, which begins Thursday in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
“It’s been a really good season,” Gross said. “It’s always nice when you only lose three games. I’ve had a lot of fun. It’s a great group of guys. Individually, I’ve been playing a lot better.”
A sport management major, Gross eventually wants to work for a pro or college sports team, possibly in marketing or as an athletics director. But if he keeps improving at the rate he has over the past year, professional basketball may be in his future.
“You find whatever you need to work on and just improve on that and go from there,” Gross said. “If I keep improving, and an opportunity comes to play overseas, I’ll definitely consider it.”
The Tigers, who lost in the first round of last year’s NAIA Tournament, received a No. 1 seed this season. They open play at noon CST (1 p.m. EST) Thursday against Lincoln (Illinois) College at the Stanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls.
“We are looking to make a run,” Gross said. “The conference tournament didn’t end the way we wanted it to. Everybody here is pumped and ready to go.”
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Name: Alex Gross
High school: Hauser
College: Olivet Nazarene
Major: Sport Management
Year: Sophomore
Position: Center
Height: 6-foot-10
Weight: 230
Key stats: Averaging 15.4 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game
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